Popping Zits - How To Pop Zits The Right Way

Popping zits is a pain in the butt, unfortunately for the average teenager and young adult it's a part of life. Having to pop zits is more of a pain. They always come at the worst time (if there is such a thing as a good time) and in the worst spots. Many of the things we do to cover them up only make them worse (makeup). So what are we to do? The answer for many people is popping zits. This may provide a little bit of instant relief, but it can be very risky.

Preventing acne is the best way to not have to worry about popping zits. A healthy diet, drinking lots of water, and a strict skin care program will prevent zits from showing up. But what happens when you have clear skin and a zit pops up on the tip of your nose? Pop it, but do it very carefully.

Another thing to consider is when you pop zits. The best time to do it is before you lay down to go to bed. This will give it time to heal up over night, and it's always pretty obvious when someone is walking around with a zit on their face that they just popped, not a pretty site. If you are popping a zit before bed, it's best to lay down on a clean pillow case so that the goo that comes out of the zit isn't absorbed by the pillow and smeared across the rest of your face.

Read on to learn how to pop zits the right way, as well as see my recommendations for acne treatments to help get rid of your zits for good.

After popping zits, all of the sebum, dead skin cells, bacteria, and other goo comes out and spreads all over your face. I know this sounds pretty gross, but it's true.

With this stuff on the rest of your face (especially the bacteria) you are running the risk of it settling in the other pores around it and making more acne. When it settles into the other pores it will usually lead to blackheads, which are easier to live with than a whitehead, but still a pain. The key is to wash your face directly after popping zits and use sterile practices. Read the next section for tips on sterilizing.

When you pop a zit on your face you leave behind an open wound. This wound is a magnet for infection, namely staph infections. I, personally, would rather deal with a zit than an infection that won't let me go to school, or work, or hang with my friends.

Dermatologists have a specific and sterile way to pop zits that is hard to duplicate at home. The closest you can get is by sterilizing a sewing needle with rubbing alcohol, using it to pierce the tip of the whitehead, immediately cleaning the wound with a cottong swab dipped in alcohol, then washing your face. This may seem like a pain in the ass way to treat acne and way more work than just pushing it out like you always have, but the cost of not doing it is much higher.

When you push on zits to get everything out of them you are running a serious risk of damaging the tissue below the surface of the skin.  If this tissue is damaged it is far more likely to be affected by scarring after a major breakout.  It also hurts.  I've always been taught that if it hurts, you're probably doing it wrong.

If you take none of the advice outlined above, follow this - don't push down when popping zits, do your best to push sideways.  The last thing you want are acne scars to haunt you long after your zits go away.